By Holly Fisher
Supplements Editor

Add tea making to Charleston’s list of historical claims. The Charleston Tea Plantation off of Maybank Highway on Wadmalaw Island is the only tea plantation in North America, and its tea plants are direct descendents of plants grown in Summerville in the late 1800s.

Last month the company reopened to visitors and will begin producing tea after being closed for almost four years.

Owned by tea company R.C. Bigelow Inc. and William B. Hall, the Charleston Tea Plantation allows visitors an inside look at how tea is produced. A new factory is lined with large windows, and three TV screens project a video on the intricacies of tea harvesting.

In a matter of minutes, visitors will have a new appreciation for tea and a wealth of tea tidbits, such as the fact it takes 5 pounds of tea leaves to produce 1 pound of finished tea.

The tea leaves at Charleston Tea Plantation have a storied history. In the late 1880s, America was importing large

amounts of tea, and Commissioner of Agriculture William G. Le Duc wondered if it would be more profitable for the country to grow its own. So he planted a small tea farm in Summerville, according to an article in the December 2001 issue of TeaMuse.

But after four years, the government abandoned the project. That was when wealthy biochemist Dr. Charles Shepard adopted the idea and established Pinehurst Tea Plantation, also in Summerville, in 1888, according to TeaMuse.

Shepard kept the plantation running until he died in 1915. For decades, the tea plants grew on their own without any maintenance or care. In 1960, Lipton took over the plants and opened an experimental tea farm on Wadmalaw Island. Tea horticulturist Mack Fleming was hired as manager, and in 1987, he and Hall, a professional tea taster, purchased the farm.

Hall and Fleming had differing views about the future of the tea plantation and stopped making tea at the farm in 2001. The only way the two partners could legitimately buy each other out was through a court auction, Hall said.

Bigelow purchased the entire farm in 2003. Hall then partnered with Bigelow to reopen the plantation as a tea-producing farm. Hall now owns a portion of the tea farm.

Bigelow is a family-owned business, started in 1945 by Ruth C. Bigelow, who had a passion for tea and a desire to create more flavorful teas for herself and other tea enthusiasts. Bigelow’s first specialty tea is the still popular “Constant Comment,” named because people were “constantly commenting” on Ruth Bigelow’s tea.

Headquartered in Fairfield, Conn., Ruth Bigelow’s son, David, and his wife, Eunice, oversee the company along with their two daughters.

Hall has known the Bigelow family for a number of years, he said, and felt they would be in tune with what the plantation needed.

“They had the foresight to see what could take place here and (the need for) preserving the history of tea in America,” Hall said. “We are from the ground to the cup. Vertically integrated is what they (Bigelow) are, by having ownership here.”

Bigelow also has the marketing expertise to publicize the Charleston Tea Plantation and the fact it’s the only place in North America the public can watch tea being grown and processed. The tea harvested on Wadmalaw Island is used to make American Classic Tea, which can be purchased in the on-site gift shop along with Bigelow specialty teas and souvenirs.

Tea plants cover about half of the 127-acre plantation, giving the owners room to expand.

Bigelow, with the help of its public relations firm, is spreading the word about the plantation and generating interest in Charleston’s newest tourist attraction. Hall has been featured in the local media, and brochures have been distributed to hotels and visitor’s centers.

“We’re looking for tourists and locals,” Hall said. “This is the only tea plantation in America, and we want them to come see it. It’s either come here or go 4,000 miles (to the next closest plantation).”

The Charleston Tea Plantation is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, visit www.charlestonteaplantation.com or call 843-559-0383. Visitors were admitted free during January, and as of press time, company officials were still determining the admission cost.

Holly Fisher is the supplements editor for the Business Journal. E-mail her at hfisher@charlestonbusiness.com.

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